Arsenal legend addresses 'unusual' situation at Liverpool and 'interesting' Arne Slot solution

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But a true test of whether Arne Slot's side are back on track will come this evening when they face a tricky test at Brentford.If Liverpool have struggled against long balls in recent weeks then they can expect a barrage of direct play from a Brentford team who are performing much better under new manager Keith Andrews than many would have expected.But if the Reds can come through the testing assignment at the Gtech Community Stadium, and win, they would close the gap on Arsenal to a single point ahead of the Premier League pacesetters' home clash with Crystal Palace on Sunday.READ MORE: Pep Guardiola makes Liverpool Premier League title promise - 'I'll tell you'READ MORE: Eddie Howe refuses to respond to Arne Slot comments over Alexander Isak - 'I don't think that's wise'That said, victory in west London would not completely disguise the fact that after a summer of huge change, and tragedy, Liverpool boss Slot still has issues to address."I don’t know if you can pinpoint one thing causing the biggest issue at Liverpool," said Arsenal legend Alan Smith to the ECHO via BestBettingSites.co.uk."It’s probably a collection of things. So that still hangs over the club."It’s a collection of things, really."Smith, who scored and was a part of the Gunners team that won the First Division title on a dramatic final night of the 1988-89 season at Anfield, is right.But another of the conundrums facing Slot could be taken away from him tonight.With Jota's passing, and the decision to sell Darwin Nunez to Al-Hilal, the Reds head coach required new forwards in the summer.And he got two with Liverpool splashing out £79m for Hugo Ekitike before breaking the British transfer record to sign Alexander Isak for £125m.Isak, who is a doubt for the match against Brentford, has yet to hit the ground running after a disrupted summer that saw him eventually force his way out of Newcastle United.Ekitike, in contrast, is flying, with his sharp finish in the rout of his former club Frankfurt taking his tally for his new club up to six goals in 12 appearances.Smith, who won the First Division Golden Boot when Arsenal lifted the title in 1989 and 1991, does find it an 'unusual' situation for the Reds to have two big-money centre-forwards potentially competing for one spot.He said: "I do think it’s an issue.

It was unusual, really, because if I put myself in Ekitike’s shoes, he signed for Liverpool for a big fee, and he’s thinking he’s going to be the number one."I’m sure in negotiations, they didn’t mention Isak. I don’t know, I might be wrong, but then all of a sudden a £100m-plus signing comes in and you’re kind of second in the pecking order, so it would have put his nose out of joint."But now, for Arne Slot, he’s thinking, hmm, how do I keep both of them happy?

That’ll be interesting to see."Isak came off injured against Frankfurt, but fit or not this evening, Slot will believe he has the players at his disposal to beat Brentford and get their title defence up and running again.Former England international Smith, who won five major honours with Arsenal, said: "They’re still well in touch. Liverpool have got the players to go out and take the game to Brentford, which I’m sure they’ll try and do."So it should be a good match.